History was on the lunch menu at businesses throughout the Baltimore area Tuesday.
Companies big and small throughout the region paused and allowed employees to view the inauguration of President Barack Obama, saying it was worth it to break for about an hour in the middle of the day and appreciate the historic event. More than 1 million people attended the event in Washington, in what was one of the largest-ever gatherings in the nation’s capital.
At the offices of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander LLC, in downtown Baltimore, about 50 lawyers, paralegals, secretaries and clerical workers crowded into a conference room to watch the inauguration on a big-screen television.
“I really don’t remember another time when we had planned for people to be able to watch an event like this,” said Barry Rosen, chairman and chief executive of the firm. “You really took in the historic nature of the day. It was very quiet during the swearing-in ceremony, and everyone applauded afterward.”
David Nevins, owner of Nevins & Associates, a marketing and public relations firm based in Hunt Valley, said about half of his staff filled his office and ate lunch while watching the inauguration. “It was a quiet fascination,” Nevins said. “There wasn’t a lot of joking around in the room. No one wanted to miss a word.” Nevins grew up in Washington and attended the 1965 inauguration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, but he said he had never seen so many people in the nation’s capital before. “From a marketing standpoint, it was fascinating to watch an event of that size,” Nevins said. “Given what we do as a firm, it’s really important that we have a good understanding of what people are thinking and going through.” St. John Properties, a commercial real estate firm with headquarters in Baltimore, ordered pizza for the staff and showed the ceremony on three televisions. “We felt it was important as Americans to take time and observe,” said Jerry Wit, senior vice president of marketing for St. John Properties. “I’ve been getting a lot of ‘thank-yous’ for doing it.” [email protected]
